5 Iconic Movie Location Vacations

Updated on March 7, 2013

Iconic film location vacations

With a global repertoire of iconic film set locations, it’s easy for the movie junky to travel the world via celluloid references. Whether you choose to hop right the way around the planet via lesser-known foreign flicks or big budget blockbusters, pack your passport, favourite film guide, travel insurance and purse, and simply jump on a plane.

The Italian Job – Turin, Italy

Famous for its unconventional car chases around Turin, tourists to this city can relive the dream by hiring a Mini Cooper and setting out into the city at rush hour, where you’ll encounter an authentic traffic jam all of your own. Many of the get-away scenes would be impossible for the mere mortal to re-enact, including the famous spiral rooftop race track and infamous three mini jump - which were both shot at the top of the famous FIAT factory, but many are certainly do-able on foot, such as Palazzo Carignano, Palazzo Madama, and The Gran di Dio church steps.

Italian Job Chase through Turin

The Beach – Ko Phi Phi Lee, Thailand

Thailand was already reaching the peak of its beach bum career when the film came out in 2000. The movie charts the main character, Richard’s progress from Bangkok to Koh Phangan and finally to the much fabled island community at the heart of the story. The beaches of Ko Phi Phi Lee Island were controversially transformed for the movie, but returned to their natural state by the 2004 Tsunami.

The Beach - Movie Trailer

Don’t Look Now – Venice, Italy

If you’ve seen the movie and visit the city, or vice versa, it’s impossible not to reference bridges, alleys, canals and squares. Don’t Look Now brought the Italian floating city to life with a dark undercurrent of suspicion, grief and confusion, quite removed from its usual romantic associations. Alongside all the big landmarks such as St. Mark’s Square and the Grand Canal, spotters should check out the 17th Century Church of San Stae, the Palazzo Grimani a Santa Maria Formosa and San Nicolo dei Mendicoli.

Lost in Translation – Tokyo, Japan

This sparse portrayal of lonely relationships in a distant and alien city catapulted Bill Murray back into the limelight. Whilst the story is mostly documented within the refines of a hotel, aspects of its location loom large outside of the huge picture windows that frame the cityscape below. All locations referenced in the film actually existed at the time of production, including the New York Bar, the Heian Jingu Shrine and Club Air.

Lost in Translation - Movie Trailer

Breakfast at Tiffany's – New York, America

The Big Apple has saturated popular culture to such an extent that visiting the city for the first time is highly surreal – sort of like standing in the centre of a real-life movie set, all the iconic references are there, NYPD, Empire State, Central Park, the Manhattan skyline. But no celluloid representation is quite as perfect as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and where to go to relive the movie dream? Tiffany & Co of course.

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